We first caught Ages And Ages in 2011 and was surprised to see that they all fit on the tiny 7th Street Entry stage... now the Portland band has reduced to just six players:
inger/guitarist Tim Perry, percussionist Sarah Riddle, bassist Rob Oberdorfer, guitarist Annie Bethancourt, keys Colin Jenkins, and drummer Evan Railton.

Ages And Ages‚Äô latest Something To Ruin is available now on Partisan Records.

Canadian electropop group Junior Boys (aka Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark) will be headlining the Turf Club in St Paul next Wednesday, September 14th, as part of the special Red Bull Sound Select (curated by Totally Gross National Product) show. These shows are only $3 if you RSVP, $10 otherwise.

New York‚Äôs Caveman (not to be confused with San Francisco‚Äôs Caveman Sound or rapper Caveman or New Zealand‚Äôs The Cavemen) is back on tour this Fall in support of their new album Otero War, available now on Cinematic Music Group.

You may recall that we previously caught the band with Frightened Rabbit in April 2016 when they previewed some of their new songs.

Philly-based haze-pop quintet Cheerleader will open. The band was just in town in June 2016 with Eliot Sumner , and we wrote, ‚Äú The story of this band is that they originally started in Hartford, Connecticut between Joe Haller and Chris Duran, creating music in Duran‚Äôs basement. When they relocated to Philadelphia, the two decided to take their love of creating music seriously, so they form Cheerleader.‚Äù

They‚Äôve just released their debut album The Sunshine of Your Youth last year, and have previously toured with The Wombats (yes, we caught Cheerleader in 2015), The Hold Steady, Colony House, and Knox Hamilton.

Closing out the bill will be Beasthead, a four-piece electronic indie rock band who formed in 2013. Beasthead previously appeared with Canadian band Royal Canoe
....

The Umami and Bayonne co-headlining show just took place last night, January 27th, at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis.

Bayonne

Bayonne is a musician from Austin, TX. No, scratch that, he is more than just a musician, he's a true entertainer. Bayonne completely blew me away last night. He had more than enough energy to keep me captivated by not only his live music, but also his stage presence. None of the bands that played last night were boring in any way but Bayonne had more energy and charisma on stage than the other two bands put together.

His set up was simple, or at least it looked kind of simple. It was just a table with a bunch of cords, pedals and some sample pads on it. He had a snare, tom and a cymbal lined up next to it but that was it. There were no guitars, there wasn't a huge drum kit, it was literally just a dude with some cords and some drums. I didn't think he would be exciting to watch. I was bracing myself for impact when he took the stage. I know all of the press about Bayonne says he is "not a DJ" but still, with the setup he had going, I could not help but assume that it was going to be just like one of the annoying "wub wub" techno DJ's that put me to sleep. Good God I was wrong. It was impossible to look away from the stage as he would wander around and figure out what he was going to do next.

It almost seemed like he didn't have set music to play. He seemed to attack the various pedals and sample pads that were strewn across the table. It was as if you could see him thinking about what to do next. You could see him shaking his head or clenching his jaw as he pressed the next button. He hit every button with a purpose. Even though it seemed like he was just kind of making it up as he went, everything he did was done with conviction.

His music was a mix of almost "wub-wub" music (aka techno) but it had a heavy indie rock influence in it. It was upbeat but his lyrics seemed dark and had an intense echo on them that Bayonne then played around with using the pedals and what not. The music he played wasn't my scene but the entertainment that is Bayonne in a live setting was more than enough to make me fall in love. Plus, any musician that sells hot sauce automatically wins me over!

Umami was the last band of the night. They were great but Bayonne was such a hard act to follow. Honestly, I was still in awe of Bayonne's set and it seemed like Umami just could not keep my attention. That being said, if you like strange, almost electronic at times but also rock at other times, music, then you definitely need to check these guys out. I saw them open up for Yeasayer about three years ago and they blew me away. I wish they wouldn't have closed out the show last night so I was able to give them the attention that they deserve. That being said, they definitely weren't bad last night and I will definitely be keeping an eye on their calendar so I can see them again.
Look for Umami's upcoming new album from Totally Gross National Product.

Beasthead

The show was opened by Beasthead. These guys were strange but in the best way possibly. (Actually, looking back on it, all of the music last night was strange.) The best part about these guys is it seems like they know that they are kind of boring on stage so they had some visuals going on around them.

There was your classic white bed sheet along one of the walls in the venue. There was a computer set up with what looked like a soundboard and a camera next to it. What happened next is super hard to explain. There were video clips being played but they were super distorted. I caught clips of The Wizard of Oz and Donnie Darko but the rest was pretty unrecognizable. There were also times where the crowd and musicians were being projected onto the sheet. But again, everything was super distorted and colorful.

When you take this and add the indie-rock electronic sound that is Beasthead, you are given a truly great experience. Like the other bands, the music really isn't my scene but the fact that they took the time to figure out something to entertain everyone while they play is something that I truly appreciate. That's not to say that they wouldn't have been fine with just the music and them on stage. They were talented and clean and unique, but the fact that they had the visual made them a stand out local act for me.

Bayonne is currently on the road to getting people excited about his upcoming debut album Primitives is coming out on March 25th, 2016, via Mom+Pop Music. Catch Bayonne at the Sasquatch Music Festival this May 27-30.

Given the fact that both drummers performed four sets over two nights (both were a part of openers Marijuana Deathsquads as well), any minor missed beat could have been easily forgiven.
.â€¦

When the options you have for a night are to dance, get pregnant, or get out... you know it's going to be a good night. Those were the options that Astronautalis gave the crowd last night at the Red Bull Sound Select concert (curated by record label Totally Gross National Product) at The Turf Club in Saint Paul.

I am fairly new to this whole "Red Bull Sound Select" concert series. Basically, Red Bull puts on these "pop up" shows at local bars and clubs that feature a couple local acts with a touring act. The nice thing about these shows are they are cheap. As long as you RSVP'd online for last night's show, you only had to pay $3 at the door and you got a free Red Bull drink with entry. I went to one of these shows a couple years ago to see Yeasayer but hadn't really been interested in any of the other ones they put on here in the Twin Cities. They do these across the country and they seem to be happening much more frequently. That being said, these are awesome, cheap shows if you're ever looking for something to do. Make sure you check it out and see what's coming to your city!

Astronautalis opened the show last night, His set was full of new songs off of his upcoming release. He explained that he was trying to lay low until his new album drops but when he heard about this show, he begged his way onto the lineup. I am so happy that he got on the show because he was definitely the highlight of the night for me and majority of the full house.

Astronautalis is a local rapper and, like almost all Twin Cities rappers, he is amazing. He told the crowd that they only options they had for the night were to get pregnant, dance, or leave. Nobody in the crowd left, I'm really hoping nobody got pregnant, everybody danced. The way he commanded the crowd from the first word he said was amazing. The way he can freestyle is amazing and he proved that last night.

At one point of Astronautalis' set he walked all the way through the venue while singing one of his new songs. This was awesome and got people moving. When he got back to the stage, he was not alone. An extremely intoxicated girl had attached herself onto him and started screaming at him from the front row. Not only was it pissing everyone off in the crowd, it had Astronautalis on edge. Because of this, his freestyle that was supposed to be about Nicholas Cage, chinchillas, mountains, poutine, and some other topics the crowd had shouted out, became all about how this drunk girl was annoying the crap out of everyone and ruining the show for everyone. I thought it was awesome that he took this tense situation and made it part of his show. Yeah, she got her ten minutes off fame during the rap, but he had absolutely nothing nice to say about the girl. I didn't see her after being called out in front of the near, if not, sold out crowd.

Marijuana Deathsquads also played last night and killed it. This is a band that you just have to see live. They have three drummers on full kits, and then a table of guys hunched over computers with a couple of people doing vocals. Last night was their birthday party so obviously, they threw out wrapped gifts to the crowd that were full of merch and CD's.

Last night our options were to dance, get pregnant, or get out... There was no way in hell I was leaving. I danced my butt off last night and was, yet again, blown away by the local music scene here in the Twin Cities.